"Shining's Iconic Final Shot Photo Found After 45 Years"

Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining is celebrated for its haunting final scene, featuring a photograph from the Overlook Hotel's 1921 Fourth of July ball that prominently includes Jack Torrance, portrayed by Jack Nicholson, despite him not being born at the time the photo was supposedly taken. This image was a real photograph that was digitally altered to include Nicholson. For decades, the original photograph remained elusive, but it has now been rediscovered, 45 years after the film's release.

Alasdair Spark, a retired academic from the University of Winchester, shared insights into the process of tracking down the image on Getty's Instagram. He explained, "Following the earlier identification by facial recognition software of the unknown man in the photograph at the end of The Shining as Santos Casani, a London ballroom dancer, I can reveal that the photo was one of three taken by the Topical Press Agency at a St. Valentine's Day Ball on February 14, 1921, at the Empress Rooms, the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington." Spark's post also featured a new scan from the original glass-plate negative and other supporting documents.

The search for the original image involved Spark, New York Times staffer Arick Toller, and numerous dedicated Redditors. Spark recounted the challenges they faced: "It was starting to seem impossible, every cross-reference to Casani failed to match. Other likely places that were suggested didn’t match. There were some places we could not find images for and we started to fear that meant the photo might be lost to history, and never be found."

Spark had been informed by on-set photographer Murray Close, who captured the image of Nicholson used in the film, that the original photo was sourced from the BBC Hulton Library. Knowing that Hulton acquired Topical Press in 1958 and that Getty took over in 1991, Spark decided to search through Getty's vast collection. This effort led to the discovery that the image was licensed to Hawk Films, Kubrick's production company, on October 10, 1978, for use in The Shining.

Spark clarified the photo's details, stating, "Joan Smith had said the photo dated from 1923. Stanley Kubrick had said 1921 and he was correct. The photo doesn’t show any of the celebrities I had speculated on — the Trix Sisters for instance — nor the bankers, financiers or presidents others like Rob Ager have imagined there. No devil worshippers either. Nobody was composited into it except Jack Nicholson. It shows a group of ordinary London people on a Monday evening. 'All the best people,' as the manager of the Overlook Hotel said."

For fans of The Shining, this discovery is a thrilling piece of cinematic history. Stephen King's novel was first published in 1977 and has been adapted into Kubrick's iconic film and a more faithful 1997 miniseries directed by Mick Garris.